he first man and woman were called Adam and Eve. They lived in a garden full of beautiful trees that gave all kinds of fruits that were good to eat. In the middle of the garden, God put two trees: the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge. God said that the man and woman could eat the fruit of any of the trees in the garden, except for the Tree of Knowledge. If they ate from that tree, or even touched it, God said that they would die.

"...ye shall be as gods..."

The serpent who lived in the garden with them was the cleverest of all the animals that God had made. The serpent said to Eve, “You will not die—if you eat from the tree of knowledge, God knows that your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing all things, both good and evil.”

So Eve took a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and ate, and gave it to Adam for him to eat. And just as the serpent had said, their eyes were opened.

When God found out what they had done, he said, “ The man has become like one of us, knowing all things, good and evil—what if he should also eat from the Tree of Life, and live for ever?”

So God drove the man and woman out of the garden. He cursed the serpent, so that it would have to crawl on its belly. He cursed the woman, so that she would bear children in great suffering. And he cursed the ground, so that Adam would have to work and sweat all his life to grow food. After God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden, he set an angel with a flaming sword to guard the path to the Tree of Life.